Woman dies, another hospitalized after cryotherapy treatment at Paris gym – National
A woman has died and another is in critical condition after a cryotherapy session turned deadly due to a cold chamber malfunctioning at a Paris gym, according to French investigators.
On Monday at On Air gym on the Boulevard Voltaire in Paris, an employee in her late 20s died after a suspected nitrogen leak from the cryochamber, according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP).
A client of the establishment, who is in her 30s, was hospitalized in critical condition and three people who were in contact with the victims and provided first aid also received treatment, according to police.
Nitrogen is an odourless and colourless gas commonly used in cryotherapy.
The gym was evacuated shortly after the leak as 150 people were reportedly present when the malfunction took place.
A body was seen being carried out covered by a white sheet and screens were set up outside the building so no one could see inside the gym.
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“An autopsy and toxicology analysis will be carried out to determine the precise cause of death,” a spokesperson for the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
The gym has been closed indefinitely.
Cryotherapy is the use of freezing or near-freezing temperatures for therapeutic purposes. It is said to decrease inflammation, pain and spasms.
“A 2017 review found multiple reports of whole-body cryotherapy having a positive impact on muscular inflammatory markers and post-exercise recovery. However, there is no scientific consensus on the efficacy of cryotherapy for athletic recovery,” according to Medical News Today.
The outlet notes that researchers suggest that whole-body cryotherapy may help manage “mild cognitive impairment as part of a broader treatment plan.”
“A 2018 trial similarly found that whole-body cryotherapy may have a positive effect on memory retention, making it a potentially effective preventive therapy for mild cognitive impairment,” the outlet reported.
Cryotherapy was previously challenged in 2015 in the United States after a 24-year-old woman froze to death at a spa in Las Vegas.
In October 2015, a woman working at a Nevada cryotherapy clinic was found dead in one of the icy treatment chambers after being left alone to close up shop.
Chelsea Ake, 24, did not turn off the machine before she entered the chamber. She was found the next day by employees who arrived to open the clinic.
People usually use the chambers for just a few minutes; it appears Ake was in the machine for about 10 hours.
Local police said Ake used the machine without assistance and may have suffocated. The report said investigators ruled “operator error” in the case.
— With files from Global News
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